Communist-China. the Role of Maoist Ideology in the Education and Socialization of Young People Is Also Discussed

DOCUMENT RES,UME

ED 138 534 SO 010 013 AUTHOR Parker, Franklin TITLE What Can We Learn from the Schools of China? Fastback 89. SPONS AGENCY Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Bloomington, Ind. PUB DATE 77 NOTE 53p. AVAILABLE IROM Phi Delta Kappa, Eighth and Union, Box 789, Bloomington, Indiana 47401 ($0.75 paperbound, $0.48 each 10-24 copies, $0.45 each.25-99 copies) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.93 HC-$3.50 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *CLinese Culture; Communism; Comparative Analysis; *Comparative Education; Educational Practice; *Educational Trends; EleLentary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Non Western Civilization; *Political Socialization; School Role; *Student Attitudes IDENTIFIERS *China; United States ABSTRACT This pamph.i_et describes,,briefly school structure in Communist-China. The role of Maoist ideology in the education and socialization of young people is also discussed. The first four chapters explain the organization of preschools, compulsory elementary schools, noncompulsory secondary schools, and higher education. Educational aims are primarily to train workers for farms and factorieE,, not for universities. Four common characteristics of Chinese and American education are concern for the disadvantaged, shortening the school years, political education, and work and study. Chapter five explores Maoist ideology and the Cultural Revo'ation. During the Cultural Revolution the quality of education and health care was improved, peasants were introduced to crude industrialization, elitism and intellectualism were criticized, and the arts were made pervasively propagandistic. Chapter six considers the reactions of Chinese youth to being forced to work in rural areas and to experiencing pressures of party loyalty when they attend universities. The final two chapters point out tha't the Chinese people are willing to experiment with short trainingPeriods to produce needed manpower, as in the case of "barefoot doctors" who are peasants with minimal basic nedical training. Throughout the pamphlet, comparisons are made to the American educational system, student protests, and mass media. (AV) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** ,Fastbick 89 ,t what, Can We Learn from ie Schools of China?_.

a Franklin Parker,

ibi'jjvcsolotv vvt;s7i0'& TIONAL :* 04)0;0,0

0 FRANKON PARKER

and I !ankh?) Porker teaches historyand philosophv of education comparative and internationaleducation at Vvesi Virgiina University of Education (N1or gant own), wherehehas 't.ieen Benedum Professor the Universities of Texas (Austin) since 1968. He previouSly taurTht at and Oklahoma (Norman). He waseducated at Berea College tKen- College tucky), UniNrsity cif Illinois(Urbona)iod G.eorge Peabody for Teachers (Nashville,Te'rinessee I. Vanderhilt l'arkerwrote GeorgeredhodyI Eiogrdphy. University Press, 1971: Afrii antDeelopink,nt and Iduaarion in South Soothero Rlioth..0,i, Ohio StateUnivNsity Press, 1960: Afri6i of (he Sahara, Prentice-Hall,1966: and the f)atth' Of the Kanawha County, Phi DeltaKappa., 1975 Jastba(k rr63). HeIras written on African affairs for majorencyclopedia yearbooks and on education for the AMON( c11 la Entyclowdid Annual. With his wife f3etty he compilesand edits American Di.,o,ertation!, on Foreign Education)bibliography series withabstracts,' nine volumes of which have beenpublished by Whitston Publishing Company since 1971; world coverageis anticipated. The Parkers Delta have made tour research trips toAfrica (he co-directed a Phi England Kappa East Africa seminar),They have also done research in visited and have visited Eastern Europe,including the USSR. Parker schock in Peking, Shanghai. andHangchow, People's Republic of Delta China, in March of 1974, whileparticipating in the first Phi Kappa seminar and fieldstudy devoted to that country.

Series Editor, Donald W. Koh nson No VSTil

What Can We Learn From the Schools of China?

By Itaok lin Parker

Maoist Education

Common Strands in Divergent Cultures 7

Preschool Through Secondary 9

Higher Education 12

Maoist ideology and the CulturalRevolution 15

The Youth React 32

China's "Can Do" Attitude 35

A Hothouse of Revolution 38

41 Appendix Brief Facts Brii History 42 45 School Summary Mao Taks About Education 46 Maoist Education

Why the tormoil(in Mainland Chind after Mao 's death?Moderate Hua Kuo-feng, who succeeded Mao Tse-tung(1093--1976) as Chinese C,ammunist Partyr hairalh111, Was ppOsed by radicals, headed by Chiang Ching, Mao'', fourth wile. To solidify their dom- inant position, HIM and the army-backed moderates vilified Chiang Ching and other radical leaders and launchedcampaign lo purge them, What JO rdlliC,Ibt dna 1114

5 4 6 radic al against moderate and held ultra-extremists in chec k. While purging so-called "c apitalist loaders.- his long viewencouraged the law premier Chilli rt. (18)8.1976) to make China an economi- c ally viable worlil power. Why study Chinese sc hoc)1,,? Aro tv)t imr vdOlv ..operior? can we possitily Iomirvm Chioese PthR.111.(M?'ll the meastire of success is educating more children'Iorlonger periods in nice!' schools for higher-paying jobs, the United Statusleads China, Con- sider other reasons tor studying China'sschools; First, one always 1;,arns from another srhool system, both from good and bad examples. The value of stir h a study isthat one sees ()He'," (1s.S(fl sch(mIs better when they are c umparedwith schools in another colintrymothir culture, anothervalue system, another way of life, Second, Chinaofficially the People's Repuhlicof Chinahas gone t tqough the nmstprofound revolutions in history, culminating in Mao's Communist victory in 1949and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69. These have produced a couniry claiming tobe the purest of Communist states, more put e than even the USSR. Third, Maoists claim that through) education theyhave engaged .the people in their countrithe most populousin the world--in an allpervasive "serve the o'eople" campaign, diiunprecedented experiment in social altruism aimed at ihe veritableremaking of human nature. Fourth, China, now one of the world's mostrapidly developing countries, has through its schools ,mdother agencies: fed, housed, and clothed more than NOmillion people, al- though only 11".. of its land is arable; exploded more than .dozen nuclear devices; produced jets, submarines, tanks, missiles, and other weapons, along with calS, trucks, and-big .farm equipment; -:--built bridges, railromis, and industrial complexes m some ofthe world's most difficult terrain; given sizable and growing economic al0 to otherdeveloping counicies, thus becomingI model for theThird World. Finally, in modernizing and humanizing theworld's oldest and once most downtroddenpeople, China' is experimenting with school goals,.teaching P2chniques, andchange'comparable to our own. 7 Common Strands in Divergent Cultures

What educational tochniqlies, innovdtiow. Ameri- (-dos ond chines(' 11,0:,e ityrummon? 'Files(' four at least: First, educoting the disadvantaged. Critics say that We in the United Stau, do not really educate our poor, despite huge spending dnd massive effort. Chino, datiping somesuccess, has given preference in school. work, and leadership posts to the children of peasants, workers,and soldiers--those historically excluded from the good things of life. Second, shortening and enriching the school years. In the United States we are noW cutting backafter a century andmore of extending educatio.n through high school and for smeralyears sending about 50"0 of our high school graduat. ReasoM for the cutbacks include economic recession: more money demands by schook, welfare, and city .services than can be met by thegovern- ment: ond rking dropout rates from youths disillusioned with school. We want to shorten, enrich, enliven, and increase thet effectiveness of our schools. China has reduced the time needed to complete schooling through university level from 17 to 12 years. Her claim thot the quality, quantity, industrial efficiency, and citi/en- ship of the new graduates has improved as a result of this chongewill be watched closely. Third, work Ond study. Career education is a currentconcern in U.S.. schoolshow to mix general education with training fora job skill. China's .schools.- emphasize work-study and deliberately link school with productiye labor on farms and in factories. Fourth, political education (callitcitizenship ''('ducation or even moral education). Some critics say Oat Anwrican schools and society are dysfunctional (or antagonistic) because angry, unsatisfied

7 8 students wreck school buildingsand other puhlic and private and do property; steal, lie. andcheat; show little concern for others': merican not vote as adults. Suchbehavior shows a decline in zenshio values. Rarely, as in thekennerly years, are young Americans touched with a yearning to Serveothers selflessly, the,:kritics say. the heart or maoist education+.youths acci'.ptan«. of a societY- -soci,d serving ahruism, a slIA1.-1110-11(.0OleanitAldO., dal' sense of cohesiveness and national commitment.'rho Maoist inoral approach and society raises these questions:Is correct motivation as important as or even more importantthan knowledge and skills? Can citizens.? the right attitude inchildren and aduhs produc e altruistic Flow do schools get young people towork tiS hard for national pur- people really poses as for personalgain? Can properly motivated dedicated cid- mOve mountains? Why doChina's sc hoots prodm aring, self- /ens vehile'American schook Often produc e too many indulgent youths? Does thiN intp/v that theChine+e hetter, MOW MOrdi? No. Both the United Statesand China were shaped, by revolutions that aimedin different vays.times, and contextsto .Iift upthe nieaning suppressed majority. Ourrevolution began in;1776 and its Their revolution came it) this ryntury has since been reinterpreted. America's ciitics and friends can and has since been rekindled. history; the poinno both glorious andinglorious aspects of ,por sameand worse--can besaid of China. Neither country iswiser, better, more moral than theother. But as. eac h raises its new genera- particular ways toward particiilar'national and personal tionsit., them and goals, it is Only natural towonder what'we can learn horn they from us. made us Othv are they ,o differentfrom us? History and cultow different. The, American is moreindividualistic and competitive, Our the Chinese morefamily-oriented and socially cooperative. heritage, our industrialization,imnligra- Greek and.Judeo-Christian from tion, and frontier made usvalue personal effort and benefit private gain: their longauthoritarian rule and longerciAltural and with a agricultural history madethem a more regulate,d society stronger collectik Mentalityfor the common good. 9 Preschool Through.Secondafy

Howore China 'ssc/mols organized? Adrilinistration, finance,

teacher selection, and textbook preparation ar'e decentralized in . some 80,000 coniMunes plus the many town and city districts. Yet in aim and content schools adhere closely to central Party policy. But Party piali0 has zigzagged between extremeson one side an intel lectdal content favored by moderates wanting knowledgeable experts for rapid national development, on the other a practical work- study content favored by radicals who prefer "redness'' or revolutionary enthusiasm over "expertness" or competent technicians who are not necessarily ardent Communists. Schools are administered by local revolulionary committees, as they are called, with 'teacher, parent, party worker., and soldier members. What is th6 school ladder? Before the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69. China had a six-year elementary school, three-year junior middle school, and three-year senior middle school (middle school is equivalent-tn the American high school).Since the Cultural Revo-, lution, the 6-3-; yearS have been reduced to 5-2-2 years. M,ao said that by remcving duplication and speeding up learning, the current nine-year sc.rool for ages 7. to 16 could accomplish as much as the pre-1966 12-s ear school. Higher education has been cut from five or. six.to three s ears, depending on field of study. What preschool training is offered? Nurseries tor children-froM 6 months to-3 years of age and kindergartens-for ages 4 to 7 are man- aged by communes, housing units, and factories, freeing 'mothers to work on farms and in factories and providing good physical and health, care. They teach approved social attitudes: loyalty to .the Chinese peopte, the nation, the peer' group, and Maoism. Sm.dl fees are charged for day care and slightly larger fees for six:day boarding

9 care. State suhsidies assist needy families and those with several children (two is the current ideal). Trained .kindergarten teachers earn an average of $20 per month. American visitors have seen kindergarten children dance; sing in Chinese, English, and French: and present plays complete with costumes. Classrooms ir.,,.wi6bly contain Mao's portrait and often portraits of Marx. Fri-gels. Lenin, anch Stalin. Wihit happokis in elementary s'chools(Sulfjects in the five-year elementary school (ages 7-12) include Chinese language (reading and writinW. arithmetic, rii'usic.. art Ind. history taught from the viewpoint 01...,larxist class struggle'. All subjects are given a practical nd .doctrinal inrerpretation. During several afternoons a week, students in practical classes under factory-like conditions make such things as tacks, chess sets, fountain perq. and water pumps. School buildings, though old, are well kept. Cflassmorns are sgfe, evenrude by American standards, but hae serviceable desks, chairs, and aslate blackboard. The children are attentive.and seem well and happy. VVIrat are secondary schools. like?' Secondary schools (called middle schools) are compulsory. Officials say that all childrenq now attend the five-Ye5r elementary school (ages 7-12), that 40ri', enter the.tv.o-year junior middle s.chool (ages 12-14),and that 40"i.of these ::nter the two-year Senior middle school (ages 14-16). The jo-aor middle school offers general education. The senior middle school offers advanced studies and specialized courses. Middle school subjects include Chinese language, English. Rus- sian, mathematics, physi.cs, chemistry, Chinese history. world history. geography, elementary agriculture. physical culriire, music, biology, and health. As in elementat'y schools, the secondary school offers work-study, emphasizes problem-solving tochniquesmd stresses serving the people and the nation. What are the educational aims? Besides ideology, altruisn.. and subiect matter. elemental)/ and secondary education 'aims to train wo kers for farms; and factories, not to prepare students for univer- sit.,es. Most middle school graduates go to' communes for a lifetime of work. Few are selected for higher educationmd then only after several yearslof work. Preference gous to'workers', peaSants', and soldiers' children recommended by their peers on the job. Some urban youths, disillusioned at being lockedjiivto long years of farm .

-5 work, drift back to citres iliegally, a di f ficu h and dangerous step since ration cards (rice, eottQn fabric, nd a few other items are rationed, more for control than because of shortages) are valid only in as- signed work places.

111 , 1.2

11 Higher Education

Hotv about higher education? Peking UM\ major intellectual center since its founding in ) of Chinese Communist ideology, has some 4,500 siu,. ed with a pre-Cultural R('volution enrollment of 9,000), 2,200 teaching staiia high one-to-two faculty-student ratio and Of f ers studies in 16 departments and 64 specialties. Each of the 16 departments and the university as a whole are administered by a revolutionary committee headed by an elected chairman and composed of faculty. student, worker (maintenance),. People's Liberation Army, and Party representatives. . flow are sifidunts admitted? Each department decides how many students it can take, an admissions comnlittee allots vacancies to the provinces, and provincial committees allot vacancies to individual communes. factories, and army units. Interested middle School graduates who IT've svorked two or more years in a unit may apply or may he recommended. Workers in each unit endorse middle school graduates, woi king with the ones they believe should be admitted on ideological leadership grounds. This grassroots admissions approach, new since the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69, assures that those selected have a worker/peasant/soldier background, are Comih,inist activists, and have work experiences that put them in touch w ith common people. Thus incoMing students, older than ours, are at least age 20 and are invariably Communist Youth League members (red-scarved middle school activists); some are Party members. Where moderates (national development-min(led pragmatists) has e dominated over radicals (Comimmist enthusiasts), universities have rejected applicants who, though politically acceptable, are not "academically qualified.

12 13 flow much are professorspaid?Reported Ilion, lily salaries are: professor. $100 to $150 (majoi !nom hly e\penses fer a familyif four, $90); lecturer, $75: assistant lecturer, $35; graduate assistant, $23 to $211. Professors lic,e in low-r ost gover nment housing and get free medic are; the.r families pay onlhalf of medical costs if cad) member has paid a sr .all annual medical insurance fey. Are professors pohticizeili Since the Cultural Revolution, over two-thirds of Peking University's 2.200-member teaching staff have done periodic productive labor in factories, ri:ral hospitals,on farms, or in -May 7" 'hook. Man's spec( h on May 7, 1966, urged such work-schools for intellectuals and Party workers to learn from, i.e., keep ill contact with, and as humble as, the laboringmasses. I Iwy also have regular doctrinal discussion meetings. What changeshave occurred in higher (..ducation?Arts, science, medicine, and roost other courses have been reduced from fiVeor si years to three years. Examinations tend to be problem solving, often allowing open books rather than memoriad factual answers (as in the past). Stunents' opinions are respected:initially professors confer with students about course content and requirements. One professor reported that he used to require the memorizatiori of many dates until his students persuaded him to reduce their as!,,ign- ment to remembering only the essential Ones. Such admissions (to us, confessions) are common, since all who work and live together, including students, faculty, and maintenance staff, regularly discuss their own and their colleagues' good and bad points in relation to the work done aml service rendered to the people and the nation. flow rs the practn alside of work-studyaccomph4rea? Peking

University's pharmacy department, for example, produces drugs in.1 .small crude factory. These drugs are displayed with pride because of their low cost, good quality, the simple equipment used in theirpro- duction, and the factory's policy on experimentation withnew drugs. One notes the pride of pharmacy students, instructors, and cooperating workmen, and forgets that the equipment initiallyap- peared shoddy.. Some urban middle school students grow mushrooms for market, some reFiair broken motors and thus gain electronicsex- perienCe. others grow" herbs in tiny plots on school grounds for medicinal use. The students gain some experience; the schoolsome

13 14 income, the economy some productivity. One wondcrs about the efficiency of such activities, but they are in line with Mao's desire 'o merge the practical with the theoretical, linklabor with I. arning, make everyone work-conscious for nation-building, reduce differences between intellectual and manual workers, andeliminate elitist superiority from those in responsible positions.

1 5

14 Maoist ideology and the Cultural Revolution

How central is education in Maoist ideology? Education's Crucial role in China is evident in the hard-fought battle wagedover its direction. In the 1950s, theoretical education to produce specialists threatened to dominate (lectures, books, and testswere emphasized); Mao reversed the trend with a half-work, half-studyem- phasis intended to promote Communist ideals and increase popula- non. When similar "eli,kr i;ained ground in the early

1960s, Mao i m, . :II Revolution of 1966-69. The consequent !Lice youths who were more red than expert and universities with farm and factory work. N1,10'S dicta, regarded as holy writ, will continue to be appealed to now that he is dead. Wi. have yet tosee if post-Mao China will continue.to produce revolutionary enthusiasts at theex- pense of academic specialists. What do objective. critical, visiting American educators think of MaVand China's schools? Thirteen well-known, respected child development experts, among them Uric Bronfenbrenner anda physician specializing in early childhood, reported their impres- sions of school visits in four major cities in Childhood in China (Yale University Press, 1975)1 report praised for its insight and objectivity. They found Chinese preschoolers quieter. gentler., less intense, less whining, and less aggressive than American children. Kinder- garten teachers emphasized group effort over individual activities and taught songs dancing better thanignitive -.kik like res:ing and languageif They noted v school unifo7.m t. ai4e5 7-12. PN'f influence was sy mc and .pervask ittl, Red Soldiers, Red

GuardS,-ahd Co nist Youth Leagu, 7 -wetIrominent models. Ideology prepar e young to follc+.1, :HO ..irection. A prat.tical curriculum !.iii d theory and speculation

15 16 Primary tea('hers seemed brisk, competent, and interes'ted in their tasks. 1. he children were "remarkably self-controlled, ... com- mitted to their tasks, and without the disorders of behavior [seen)... in American sc hook.' Junior middle schoolers (ages 12-14) and senior middle schoolers (ages 14-161 were conforming, dutiful, well .organiied. Students had no curriculum choil e. did not search for diverse information, were not library browsers. Yet the collective effort apparently produced students With high-level skills. Talented students, often in work production situations. we, e creative and inventive. Revolutionary ideological messages pervaded literature, musicmd other cultural aC- tivities and events. As in the USSR (and in contrast with the United States). Chinese out-of-q.hool activities appeared to reinforce school values. Or- dinary workers,peasants. soldiersmd revolutionary leaders, brought in as resource persons to describe the "bad old days," fired children's patriotism to "serve the oeop!o." An old woman whose feet had been bound tV, a child showett urled-under, crippled toes and told of the had old ( risk loot binding. An old farmer told of his burdened, landless forehears under brutal landlords, piti- less usurers, and preying bandits. When middle 'School graduates de- parted for commune and factory workp hey have some choice aboOt assignments), they were escorted with fanfare and parades reMi- niscent of patriotic Amer icans seeng off local National Guard units. Foreign language 1...ichingEnglich and Russian al e popular

.employs a good do,d r drill and memorization. Simple conversa-

tion using up to k expected r the four-year middle sc hool. Health care was 0 develoPine -ountry (noted bY* the American physi, rough the C-Unese were self- deprecating. They ne, ways said they were trying to do better. The Americans we v the children's "high level of concentration, orderil.:-. 'opetence.- Good behavior did not suggest docility .cr Stir ft- ,f'apathy. Some children were livery, even naughty, .mt ,ng. The Amerit ans wondered what accounted fort ', ,1 kly pro-social Lehavior," the remarkable stability o' Was it a result ot China:s more 17 'than 4,000 years of cultural continuity ? Or because most Chinese live in continuous and enduring neighborhoods (even students' work periods away from home do not violate family cohesiveness)? Or because of China's commitment to national development? Or the unity and direction permeating Mao Tse-tung's thought? While we expect school to produce change and some dissent in our young, the Chinese expect reasonably proper behavior which their children achieve win) little conflict. The American; could not adequately explain how school and society in China brought children to "competence, social grace, and restraint.'" They pondered these par rdoxes: If American schools are functional in relation to family, church, peer group, media,-style, and other shaping influences, why do Chinese schools and society blend so well with cultural identity. national ethics, and adult morality? How is the fit achieved? How can school and society be so well in tegy ted ? The Americans could only speculate. They left without full answers, convinced that they "had seen a radically different way of raising new generations.- Everywhere, they were told about the sharp dijerences in school and society caused by the trauMatic Cul- tural Pevolution of 1966-69. What 'led to the Cultural R evo tit ion -of 1966-69? One must look hack to the failure of Mao's "Great Leap Forward," 1958-60, an un- precedented attempt at rapid industrialization and intense com- munization. High quotas were set for farms and factories, hundreds of thousands of crude backyard iron and, steel blastqurnaces were built' from scrap, communes were fornwd from cooperative farms, peopFe were marched to and from work and lived and ate incorn- mon barracks and mess halls. Bad crop years, famines, poor' planning, and peasant resistance to family regimentation made the Great Leap Forward fail.Inits aftermath, Mao was forced' to retire .to second-line command as Communist Party theorist, handing over 'daily administration to practical leaderspragmatic, incentive- minded, national developnWnt-oriented, and .,concerned with producing academically able technicians in preference to Communit enthusiasts, Despite his "great leap- failure. Mao had brought peasants into / initial contact with iron and steel making, with crude industrialization, and had taught them the valpe of self-reliance. This East

17 18 became all-important when the USSR, Which had long-standing border disputes and ideological friction with China, removed its Soviet technicians from China in the summer of 1960, taking with - them building plans, blueprints, machines, and money loans,. China was forced to become self-reliant. The early 1960s brought chantes o !,, Mao's liking;.specializd- tion, experts, elites; schools produc in,,,ft youths not wanting to soil their hands but 'wanting easy, high-p. ing white-collar jobs. Mao determined to reverse th.;s turn towdd apitalism, this betrayal of the revolution, this imitation of the USSR's ;im. of salary differentials and consumer incentives to buy off (lisconunt. But Mao,nolongor the strongest commander, had little more than his influence with People's Liberation Army leaders to help turn China back toward pure communism. What exactly was the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69? How dia it affect schools? Officially itiwas the Great Proletarian Cultural Revo- lution, 1966-69. In essence, to purify communism and stop China from takitig the -capitali,.1 road," Mao used student activists to re-- move from positions of i,ower those who favored technical expertness over ideological ferl.oi. Itis not "experts- who win wars, he ,aid, but "reds-; Le,. properly motivated Communists. To reinstate revolutioniry ./eal, to give youths a taste of revolution, to put out of office capitalist compromisers, toset China on a road of .continuing, self-correcting revolution, Mao smashed the very Party apparatus he hadHated. He closed universities ond middle schools, organized stu,l,'nt Red Guards, and sent them thr'oughout China to: 1) challenge, harass, and oust authorities high and low for taking the "capitalist road"; 2) criticize and repddiate educators showing bourgeois tendencies; and 3) transform edUca- lion., literature, ill forms of culture and Party leaders in all fields to conform with NIdoiSt thinking. It was an epic, unparalleled upheaval. Some 14 million student Red Guards, waving little red-backed Thoughts of N1,10 Tse-tung books, fanned out to harass "capitalist -(iaders- ever, where. It was ma, rectificatiOn, a mass purge affect- Hig millions, with a few:thoLusa iL lh' d outright. Revisionists were made to move hack into line.. \AlikI :he Red Guard split into warring factions, Mao unleashed the Pe,ple's Liberation Army, which shipped Youths off to farm work. 11Cultural Revolution of 1966-69 left in its wake as administrative ills the revolutionary commit-

111 1 9 tees we have mentioned. Committees composed of People's Libera- tion Army men and Wdmen, party cadres (Communist enthusiasts), worker, and pedsants coptrol every aspect of Chinese The Cultural Revolution of 1966-69 tried to purify the Party, set its members firmly bac, k into the Communist path, politicizedwhole generation of young people. gave thorn practical .e \perience in Communist theory. discredited the experts. reinstated ihn-trinal redness. raised Mao's thoughts to the level of holy writ along with Mar Km-Leninism. and tnade the edui ational system norielitist hut at high cost ill turmoil, lost industrial-agricultural production. and in curtailed educational output caused hy two to three years of closed si hools. there compa01500 with Americ,10 tiiuIiit rehelli00, of the LiteI9b0+? United States dissidents were antigovernment. anti- Vietn,ro War: Roil C,uards were initiJlly anticapitalist. The Ame, ii rebellion aI0P,0 spontaneously tr0111 the student mass: th., from above a, harassing troops in d..power Aintrii ,iudent rebels were mild compared with China's sto,i,..rit atm ists. Ii11.1.S Cultural Revolution of 1966-69 was more complicated ,ind often more chaotic. Mao toed Red Guards to harass deviationist,: It latter (really moderates «msidered insufficiently Comnr,ilist-mi, Jed) in turn organized .ther Red Guards,to fight off radical Red Gti..ids. 11 hen. by 1969, t: U People's Liberation Army had sh,-,ped the more pugnacious Rod to farm work.and restored ,m1.!. 0. lIt remaMed was app. ontly inore than Nlao had booed !or:i edriess (Communist doctritt restored' to primacy and Mao's thotozhts elevated as holy writ uhe level ot a sfate-religion. Mao anticipated "continuous revolutiot is d weapon agoinq future moves tow.,dapitalism in these Wm(:, Iiipt it rr,it CL'ilt mai Rtnilut ti iv t.he rho( U )01- .1mitH,t the pe91ilp iwtk ;Hit p% ii vthing %A:H[4! ill Ht.(ht nom twi,g«mrCultoral P..4 UI,, Ituilson oven atter tinee or- Hot.. 111- r 1.011 i(Woos the Cultur Wave on.edur !ion? hooling was interrupu.d two to three years, the price '.n. 0.15 v. illing to pay to reaffirm (ft Communist commitment. 3 ut tilcCultural Revolution also 1-firmed education as a prime instrumont of politics; assured firetcnc.e to children of peasants, workers, and soldiers; arid, by linkinLducation with produc-

19 2 0 tion to serve agricultural and industrial needs, reinforced the work- study concept. what is an example of a school changed by the Cultural Revolt,- tiOn? This example is adapted from a Chinese source. Middle School No. 28 began some reforms in 1958 by setting up a few small factories and sending students to communes to help during busy seasons. aut revisionists iii control stopped these activities, saying that they dis- rupted the normal education pr:!i-edure. "The students were again in an ivorylower, separated from realit) behind closed doors, reading hooks, pushing for high marks and driving to become famous experts above the Masses." Confucius's idea thit "' .ho c.xcels in learning can he an official" lured sir ;Joh, taught them to deTise manual work, and required nut h home- work, which worsened students' health. Following Chairman Mao., saying that the "working class must exercise leadership in eve. thing," a Ma.) -Fse-tung Thought Propaganda .Feam of workers C,If' to the school in 1968 and put a re\,olution... comMinee in contr,! Now No. 28 and all other schbols are "orn door" -,cHools have put education hack imo the Correcr.tic,itation of trainir workers in both socialist consciousness and ohne. The small Oa-

room of the hool is integrated with the big classroom of socic--,. hook learnin4 is closely related to actual class struggle and to pr.)- Marion. Students and teachers conic into contact with workers, peasants, ant-. soldiers. Now the school's'three factories for making electric molt.- s, electronics equipment; and electroplating serve as the school'shysics and chemistry classrooms. The school also has agreements ..ith 14 outside Lictories, four agric ultural brigades, three state t,:1111s, and three Peonle's Liberation ArmY companies. Students stuck seven months in school classrooms and three mOnths in society's "big classrooms." !low aid the Cultural Revolution affect the arN? It made the arts pervasively propagandistic: theater, film, radio, music, ITIUseums, and all 'other forms of cultural communication. Chiang ChiogMao's fouqh wife arid a former Shanghai actross. rose to eminence ,1s the chief radicali/er ot all cultural entertainment. She commissioned a few model propaganda operas and films..Chinese love to -oe, for example, "Red Detachment of Women," modern reAuticnary dance drama with stirring music. The familiar story is or a pea,ant's daughrer. ill-rreated.as a slave in a prerevolutionars great house by

20 2 1 the brutal landlord and his sons. They abuse her 'and leave her for dead. She is found arid nursed to health by the Red Army, joins it, and as lea'der of a Red Detachment of Women, finds and kills the landlord. Other popular opera,, ,Iso have similar st propaganda theme, ii their own, making building ships, diggi otintains."fiery Year well-done color him ..\ using a Sovic.i

blast furnace to make steei , mula for the Chi navy. But the Soviets leave and take witri ihcm their blueprints,: :ans, and equipment. By trial and error and heroic effort the Chinese workers figure out the steel-making process, produce the materials for, the shios, and proudly set them afloat under the Chinese flag. But isr:, this obvioiis 'propaganda reprehensible to us? l'es:.at least it is strange in the context of our individualism and freeaccess to a wide range of cultural media. China's cultural media, now controlled and "propagandized" to tie its people's thinkingto national' goals and to Chinese Communist nuir'ality, may be distastefulto Americans. On .the other hand, some critics say the American cultural media, being commercial and diverse, are often debasedto the lowest appetite for- sex and violence, making their influence dis- cordant and harmful to children. In.the United States riot long.ago at least one cultural(enre, the cowboy movie, came d S CI pse to being morally and perhaps doc- trinally focused as CU rrent Chinese operas and filmsare. Cowboy heroes like Ken Maynard, Toni Mix, Back Jones, and Hoot Gibson provided an ethic of right and wrong, c hivalry, fair play, loyalty,re- spect for the opposite sex., and, the.rights of the weak. On the Satur- day matinee's silver screen the virvies exemplifiedby then-believ- able heroes and heroines _in a frontier setting includedcourtesy, kindness, loyalty, bravery, and truth. Now, the U.S. cinema, disdain- ing ,censorship, offers such provocative, titillating cultural fareas "The Graduate" ("a :lolescent- identification); ','CoOl Hand Luke"- (rebellion against the law), and '.'Bonnie and Clyde" (glamour of crime) as a coterie of creative talent explores the prokkiind moral changes now affecting America. China's choice, atthis stage of its artistic development, is to enforce a moral, doctrinal tone, as in "Red Detachment of Women" and "Fiery Year's."

21 2 2 2 4 LibefatitifrArniv tory of rvoitiit)f),0y

z} "111Ce DiNetr,siorl on Ow fheory of Net ;

4 I : i ", ; '10 ;I

l 2 8 'Ntuti,II. .1°,1)1,1,:, 9 9 - A [ducat .(1 young people who return to the count ry+tole (Mon t each aN ra- pro fes 30 29 A Y1, Ni:V. r

, ":;:gare. Military tiainituz h

32 The t(outh 11 R schoo1,-if _.(1 down- 115 , -.rodents evdluated?Becaus0 N1aoi art-,- abhors trusts intellectual's, tests were and ar, zed. No ilegrees are awarded: certiticates inc.:te prog: ns. ,os .11 all school levels lone 0:- two per tt: arc :he dis- creticof e, h school's revolutiocary « ini--nittee)"1-id to :t- Open- book orob 'in-solving. group et: orts. e -ecords are U it, ev..icatirig behaviorand ideolog:!correctness r urethan academic al)ilitv. Weak students are helpe 1 by teachers and espe-.'- cially iiy pee-, particularly by organized :ith groups. Ele,:tronics students at '',inghua University, for example, are tested by :. orrect- ing faulty circuits. Economics students take praCtical uniVersitygrad- uation examinations by ghting 1-ectures to nearby coal miners.For graduation examination, a history student may interview the miners and describe historic:illy how their atti.tudes and output were changed by the Culti:: .:I Revolution of 1966-69. Practical, collective effo:over a long tirnmin has taken the place of tt-ooretical. comoirtitk - eains overi short persiod. ( I Guard y,:uths are mak tO do farm work X):'city youths are disil :sioned with the prospect of a lifetime Pf comnr:inework. Why? Since :t was initiated by Mao in 1968, resettlement fr m cities torural areas has been a fact of life for over 10million yournz people. Nee& ing over of its people for agricultural production, China cannot give emplpyment to all urban primary and middle schoolgraduates (12 Chinese cities la'ave a populatiion Over one million). Byand large, this urban-to-rural shift, one of the largest .organizedpopulation mbvements in history, is cone willingly. Two-thirdsof those going to

32' ages 14 a: al 15; fr, nost ill be a or manent novo. alai visits 1.:ck to t. riends. curs amid airring :)fare, :d-up onthu igs uiviog, ,alging. uts ot joN. (and no doubt appreh(tnsion). One beg! o sense tho depth, vigor. r)(.' rho serve-the-peoi rno::foung people know what lult; into, as do their tarot-- thov move orban crowding ar rs. kwardr 1011 future national go,.. 5 dl) estirGated'1.5 ares were -rusticated osettled.1 hat year if OM I. nin .; ..ance,,Scenter of heas's y in Manch rria, the 240,00( 'ho went to the courci ncluded 9G of the provin iddle school graduate assigno,l tactory work. 'red lucky. A handlol selected for further

educati ' altor at least two ,Il arm or factory work, 1 67,6ft 'hind wore solecteL 'f units for university tudy. Is III inovit,i140?Thrle o dissatisfar tion. The

regime 'aake adjustments b. , ng some who have worked -0 countryside to rotor t, ,,.ork in their home , .ompti,,4 a ngle '..oungest in a tamily: along.Hn their honie one Party wo: kers

to live , gui(he raW youths unt. 'ley are adjusted; by urging ( -:11)0rs to help new cityarths adjust gradually to the, o ru,ire; hgiving governm-nt allowances to help food cit mths uma the.. toughen up enougto produce and earn much their ra.,:llbmn colleagues. But istr.r thist a ea lahor? Calling esettr-ment forced labor is open to question. ',lost city youths accept.it as routine, as expected,

as a challenge. iv 1 or them initially revel irit as a mark of adult- hood, as a test amaturity. as the roles as builders of Chinese ,min a.'an. For thoserbued -ovolutionary enthusiasm. ryscH,..mc-" oreate hi arusiip,s.ruggles, and sacrifices

eari101 C''.inese _ riiinurusts endured. Yout)g Chinese are brought

up : dship taies. As ir0 past, age is respected. Old people are in\ a o speak in scho...about thebad old days, Revolutionary leacte';ell:ofth- early h. Gdships, of rho LongMarch of 1934-35 to esc.2.e=-Chiang kai-she's encirck Factory and commune acl- .-.,ments are prais- For :ms urhan youths going to hi MAUI% teel ore pride I hd, (,IC itt' 11(.1,ge (11. dprititititlit, 11B0 acceptancy I; Ht. WOW MIL ..',111.SS to -0,rve than im;ation to shit L iv k ii1.Ht. lids in01)10vt'd

imingnselv -ince 149. They awlind ti III! I iItIS .111,1,d ,100li up-; that h. taki her righttul W0h1(1.!. I000S. Such idealism aimit (Hit coppir, itelevatioi, uncle, «,mmunism sew-, to satisfy man% Iimv good hind's higher a: lit'\riit'mi itttn(1 -thou 1,11UP, 11010 riticd1 thatro! about lima ihr,her atm!,!3\ one account., 6ria otigher learning have poor tii lequate. tcachiirig ,Tatts, and gradu,:.i.s whose traininc irirt. 'the hest in ,aitutior, with htter ,aatfs and pre-( 017 wool). !hese a,e. ot Ingher edu ,011CInki ter inilit,lfy Mei- ..,i}!,- ant picy,ure 011 plot. its ,rits ill sir Herm ai

m1111 ionInT956-611, ch0y5011, I :con put 01 1 ild0011( 4iChil'\ I 111001 dr. the nitro& t100 111-,....0rk.11,111-,,tud\ prow inarlp0 i15 t; elopr nt. In III,' 1966-1,11 Cultut pr4aod, univeronr, and ir,'1, hi as wet e largelyhoed. 1970 the struggl. pram& coni:nued lwrweenetine,,,, ,jr' 1,et.eeil I ,idii iieenm-,g, retreat d :erdtt. Tiparent con. :11,,,H

. 1 1,)o- if/1141(HI i,ii I ; al Vlaoists trimer. -Ile( mak, have placed -arts esI oruht!shki ho-r have ,tught to remold 7.r rn in 7 si hoe. no

moiler-ate ,aacce.--Intellectualsri tint. . n the 1.1: dr 4her Cornmunkt counrries, frustrate regii f)espite mort, her education inqinit ons, more wo-iim iii enl. and me more students, ara higher pri ot ,asant/worker ',her students--higher ,ilucation is st ,i,est link. Redn. and expertness coexist warily. Witi- gon Hagman(' must, if they want 1,, speed nate .leyeloi lit, elevate achievemen. over Jrn,. mean toleratingnt ference, yen China's `,`Carl lande

Whatparticularly impresses Amc-man observers abc )ool- trained Chinese youth? Their "can do- attitude does, and!' belief that mbch can be done with short tiining. "Barefoot dom .-for

example, are .peasants trained for . hrief period-041,1H, rfire:, monthsto treat minor illnesses -,trImon disease health education. immunize er). idher preventive, ices, supervise sanitation. and edut ii -ople about family r, Mg. They do farm work until need,,,'ior medical service. a: paid basically as .worker-peasants le extra coriHoensation. They seem proud to seR e. The public 0.,,s and esteems them. .,1-ten medical students are chosen Ir. ,rnCcli ng barefoot doctc,r,,. ,me- fiMes youpg women are trainer. , ..-month pe.71od to b aoth midwives and barefoot doctors. now enough to cab.ide- quately for minor ailments and tc !eft- -lore serious cases to-vsi- cians. In this and other fields the a c .millingness -lperi- ment with short raining periods tr :.,.e needed manp, and womanpower. What about medical education? Ey one account, the relatively few doctors China-trained before 1949 pr'acticed mainly ir he big cities. Hospitals were also in the esii--rle-to the :easan.

'China trained 18 time', as man.: do( . I 949 tr 65 1929 to 1949. This pace has increased L;reu-'.,,e-: the o- lution of 1966-69, witn over 80'%', of L!!- ole. Medical students wh, have several ao.--midj.,-sch.rol ,.ork experience start clinical study du:mg th,--rstear ocr r ree-vear program. Physicians help train the'over e mihion bJ79.t.: doctors (peasants gave them Mat affectionate n C. .nougnoo' ,e to serve or visit frequently each cor-.t u prod_ --ion :de,

35 China's basic organized work unit.. Visiting physiciansfrom the United States.and elsewhere, most of them objectiveand many initially critical, generally praise the quality and low 'costof medical education and health, services. Chinese acupuncture hasattracted particularly close attention from the West. What accounts for China's "can do"attitude?As on theAMerican frontier, necessity for creative substitutions. But the Chinese seem also to have an unusual sense of mission, of pailicipation,of commitment to an ideal greater than themselves. The group isclearly more imphrtant than theindividual. They feel they can do something about avoiding famine, recovering from floods andearthquakes, building a bridge, digging a 'canal, running factories and communes, lowering the birth Cate,and running a school. The Chinese know and their children love to hear the story often quotedby Mao about the Foolish Old Man and the Mountain. The old manneeded crop land to grow food and themountain stood in the way. Each evening the old man spent time after his day's labor movingbuckets of earth from the mountain. His neighbors laughed athim. "Why do you Wear Yourseif out? You will never movethe mountain.." But the old man smiled and said; "When I die, my sons will carry on;wheo they die, there will be my grandsons, and then their sonsand grand- sonsind so on throughout time. High as the-mountain is,it cannot grow higher. With_everybitwedig;itwill be that much lower. Surely, some day we will move themountain." The old man.smiled.and went on moving buckets of earth fromthe mountain. This belief in. "people power," hard workmd groupeffort to solve problems is, in China, highly motivating and a powerfultool in raising children along ideological lines. Does this attitude come frOm sehool? From Chinese(-)ciety? From communiSm? From-Maoism? It comes fromall these sources, And from over 4,000 years of experience.and wisdom:It maybegin communally with Miihiple mothering, .or more properly:multiple parenting. First there is the mothercaring, nursing,fondlibg. When she is at work during the day there are the several"aunties" in the nursery, "'all surrogate mothers, who offer love, care,guidance. Most often there are grandmothers andgrandfathers too who hold, handle, fondle, care, and guide the ydung children. As inSparta, every adult is parent to every child,both in theory and practice. As in USSR nurseries and Israeli kibbutzim, everyoneknowS how youths

36 3 7 should he raised,everyone cares how youths are rasied; involved. everyone is What is the key socialieingfjctor? The key socializing be that all' the mother and factor may father figures seem to havein common a strong central value syqem whichpermeates the child-rearing the schooling process, and years, adult life. The influence of thisvalue system On the new haman being theChinese are trying to fashion tinues as the adult con- moves into normal multiple allegiances:family, work, Mad Tse-tung studygroups, local revolutionary committees, commune teamsmd brigadeunits.

3 8

37 A Hothouse ofRevolution

Aii can't be that rosy. What ahOutdissatisfied youth who vote with their feet against communism?Some disillusionment exists,. A Taiwan source lists as high anumber as.2,965,557 who have fled the mainland since 1949, probablyincluding Chiang Kai-shek's wealthy nationalist followers. Some dissidentyouths have braved the ar- duous trek to the coast and theeight-hour (or more) illegal dangerous swim to HongKong. An unknown numberhave been killed by sharks or shot or interceptedby Communist patrol boats. Since 1949, most of the tiny pefcentagewho fled were propertied and professional people opposed to andthreatened by communism. For the 800 millionniajority whosided with Mao against Chiang, the Communist regime has, inlittle more than 25 years, revived China's centuries-old pride, recallingthe .thousands of years when it was in fact the "middle"kingdom; i.e., the central, most cultured country under heiWen to whomneighbors eagerly came to kowtow and to learn. Some admire the Communistregime for turning society upside down, for.elevating the lowly massesfor the first time. China is thus a land of revolutionand, while Mao lived, was in continuous revolution. Why this radicafstress on continualturmoil? China is closer to its revolution than we are to ours, is moreidealistic, more enthusiasti.c, and hence feels more enloiionstoward its founders 'and founding ideas than we do toward ours. TheChinese are still more dedicated of ex- to overthrowing tyrannythan we, sill more fearful of a return ploitation than we. The revolutionaryspirit is stressed and incorpo- rated in the person and sayineofMao so that the masses will attempt anrtsustain seemingly impossibletasksfor communism, for the revOlution, really for Cf.iina, becauseChinese communism is basically Chinese nationalism. 38 3 9 How cdn education fonctir,effectively inhothouse ofrevolu- (ion, of c011,011(1,11 agitation? IH the Chinese Communist context, education goes beyond whoolin.4;,i1 i5 One with culture and includes drama, opera , dance. rnuseurradio, films, newspapers, all forms of literature, and the entire ran__,- of cultural' media. It also embraces recreation and entertanlmemti China everything is educative: the whole society educates. Cono inism was to Mao (he was long dis- lainful of thy USSR) a vehicle -roarry out hold social experiments in uplifting the poor Chinese :,easant. klucation in -the broadest senseincludin..: language ari ,mceptsis a chief means toward this end, More liii iii her Gmirnunist countries. the word p.iople is deliberately uiiI, its revolutionary connatation: the People's Republic of Chi nd. ;)eople...I Weration Army. the people's cur- renCy, andso urn R 1: ii similarly used for ideological exhorta- tion. Dissatisfac ion.ri .,ms. la( tons, and ethnic yearning su'rely exist. But China's 7` and to(= .,dike ponder how the Cominunrst regime has IR,q1 an ong Chinese Aseemingly.new Mor- ,ality. altruism. self!, -ss,r.rvo-the-people attitude, and willing- ness to try to mme \ ',Ours Who like.some things and dis- like other thing- see no easy way to explain its mot ive-force h.,,rs c.!mmunal cooperation dnd revolutionary dedication. /n c> inclusion. u% Cali we learn front Chinese educators and they frorn us? A nx raises its -oung-in keeping with its own history, culture, and rl of the future. We cannot successfully borrow directly from CH-..a or they from.us.,_, We can studs -school innovations and ponder their effect: their work sIt. is s;st f.11(' enriched programs; rural resettlilig of urban youth Hso'rr e:evaling formerly disadvantaged peasant/ worker/soldL- altruistic, moral, ethical, and serving attitudes. We can ccmpa hew sth our own innovations: career education, educational I, closed-circuit TV, team teacbing, teaching machines, open eduation, work-study' and action learning, school integration. open Jniversity admiSsions, performance contracting, accountability, hers. We can try to assess how well our innovations work for us in comparison with how well theirs work for them; 'We can ask what forces compelled us to 'embark on our school in- 4039 novations. economic a, Id manpbwer needs to Meet the Russian cold war challenge; tile shock of Sputnik; space age defense; landing men on the moon; wars of national liberation; and, internally, revolutions 'of rising expectations as the deprived (blacks. Puerto Ricans, native Atpqricans, otrier etliniC groups, poor whites, women) sought entry into/the affluence cf the.American mainstream. We can compare our school-shaping forces with those affecting China's si'mols: replacing capitalism with socialism and then communism; ove'rturning society so that the masses,are elevated; trans- forming the workl's largest backward peasant country into a world power; strengthening a nation with 12 bordering neighbors, some of whom have taken China's territory; Taiwan's pinTick ihreats to in- lade the mainland. Our school innovations have cost more, have been accompanied by mixed enthusiasm, and are less than moderately successful. China's school innovations have cost less, have apparently been publicly supported and implemented, and are judged to be more than moderately successful. We can ask why our schools and our society seem out of Rtiase: why Chinese schools and society exhibit a rare unity. We began mass education earlier, were economically prosperous, and spent a larger portion of our wealth for schools. China had a late start, was \Ind re- maips less viable economically, and has spent a smaller portion of her resources on schools. Our school prOAress stems from a complex .. mixture of local, state, and fede-ral support; an educated.and dedi: cated teaching profession; and cooperation from publishers and other private enterprises. The Chinese people have followeJ the lead Of the Chinese Communist Party and its ideology. In the end, America will use frce enterprise and individualism to strengthen professionalism and .government leadership in education. The Chinese have gaMbled their future on. Chinese communism. We each move along our own ideological tr'acks toward I h e unknown future. But we have in common the human experience and can benefit from comparing how each raises and educates its children. 4 1

40 Appendix

To aid cootinuity and to enrichunderstanding of the People's Republic of China, the followingare presented:Brief Facts, Brief History, SchoolSummary,and MaoTalks About Education.

Brief Facts Size:3.7 million square miles, the world's thirdlargest country after USSR (8.6 million square miles), and Canada (3.8 millionsquare miles). The United States is fourth(3.6 million square miles). Location: Dominates East Asia; share 13,210-mile landboundary with 12 neighbors, includingUSSR (4,150 miles) and India. China has had border clashes with both. Population: 800 million (a low estimate),world's largest popula-`CO tion; one of every fourpersons on earth is Chinese. An estimated one billion population by 1980. It is claimed thatmany birth control centers and instruction in the use of inexpensivedevices have been in effect since 1953; delayed marriage is encouraged (womenage 23, men 251. There is some doubt that the campaignis 'or can be en- forced in rural areas. , Economy:Eighty-five percent rural with eightout of 10 working in agriculture; only 11",, of China'svast land is ai'able; little food is grown on remaining deserts, mountains, wasteland,or urban areas (some dozen cities have populations ofone million or more each, eluding:Shanghai, over 10 million world'slargest cityand Peking, capital, over four million). Ninety-sixpercent of the people live oi one-sixth of the land, mainlyon the coastline or near life-giving rivers' (Yellow, yangtze, Pearl);an average, of 1,200 persons per square mile. Survival by intensive cultivation ofevery square inch has been aided since 1949 byconstruction of many dams and vast reforestation, which have actually changedsome temperature pat- terns. Small but growing industries: iyon, steel, coal,machines, tex- tiles; strenuoysly self-reliant in prodU'eingmost necessities.but lacks chemical f,ertili:4er, Lomplex machinery,scientists, highly skilled technicians7"cirdss National Productin 1970 aboilt $125 billion,or $145 per capita; (United State,s,$1,000 billion, or $5,000 per capita; USSR,.$500 billion, or $2,000per capita; India, $45 billion, or $85 per capita). The average worker's incomeis $20-$50 per month.

11 42. Ethnic Groups and Languages: Ninety-four percentFlan group, 6' 6 minorities: Mongols, Chuangs,Tibetans, Manchus, others (some with over one million population), hyingmainly in sparsely settled border areas. Main language: Mandarin (thenorthern dialect); many other dialects. Allliterates, however, understand written Chinese. Religion: Before 1949, ethical concepts fromConfucianism, Tao- ism, and Buddhism dominated; also manybelieved in ancestor worship, animism; are Moslem, 1% are Christian.Religious worship has been curbed since the CulturalRevolution of 1966-69, when the few existing churches were closed orconverted tO museums (some Christians aresaid to worship in secret). Literacy: Fifty percent of those over age 15 and 40",,of those over age 25. Life Expectancy: About 50 years.

Brief History Kingdom-: Continuous culture for over 4,000 years.. Dynastic emperors ruled under a "mandateof heaven" (akin to divine right of kings). China always vieweditself as the most superior and cultured central empire on earth; alloutsiders were "bar- barians" who kowtowed and paid hoThage. Confucius: 551-479 B.C., stresSed orderly classhierarchy, superiority of the scholar, moral rightness oforderly government. This loyalty and ethical behavior were furtheredLiy Mencius..372-209 B.C.; by Taoism's stress on man's harmonywith nature; and by Leicalism, a philosophy stresing social order anddiscipline from the emp6ror downward. Long-nailed schOlars,exalted by passing elab- orate .examikations and masteringConfucian . and other classics (scholars couldbut rarely didcome from thepeasantry), were sinecu red civil servants between the massesand the emperor. Eutope was backward when China inventedmovable type print-' ing, magnetic compass, gunpowder,crossbow, saddle, stirrup. wheelbarrow, Water-powered spinning wheel, paper money, paddlewheel boats. Humiliation:. Engrossed in the wisdom of her classics,inward- looking in her cultural superiority, China ignoredearly science and the industrial revolution which madefuropemilitarily powerful and ready to Christianize and trade (or her riches: tea ,porcelain, fabrics,

42 4 3 art, ivory, jade, brass, bronze. Europeans humiliated China militarily and occupied her ports. Winning the Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-60), Britain, then France, forced opium sale in China and used the pro- ceeds to pay for Chinese exports. In the Sino-Japinese War (1894- 95), China lost Korea and Taiwan. The Boxer Rebellion (1898-1900) ended when Europeans quelled this Chinese attempt to expel for- eigners atid established the "Open Door'' or the equalization of European occupation of ainese ports. Nationalists: "We are an open dish fit to be carved and eaten," said revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), whose forces toppled the Manchu Emperor (1911). Only the USSR aided the new government, with Stalin's secret order to take over from within, to make Com- munist. Chin:La Soviet satellite, Sun Yat-sen's successor, Chiang Kai-- shek (1887-1975), trained by the Soviets, broke with and bitterly fought the Chinese Communists (Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921.). ComniuniNts: Along with other Communists,. Mao Tse-tunga peasant's son and sometime teacher, newspaper editor, Party or- ganizerind professional revolutionaryresisted Chiang's anti= Communist drives while also ousting warlords alul landlords and organizing peasant support. Mao emerged as leader after the "Long March" of 1934-35 when only'20,000 sll rvived a harrowing 6.000-mile trek tonorth China mountains (odt of 100,000 families who Her] Chiang's encirclement). Seeing Japan as the immediate enemy (Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and soon controlled much of China), Mao forced Chiang in 1937 into an uneasy united front. World Wat ll's Pacific operations eased pressure on .China and brought Allied victory in 1945. Communiq Victory: Despite China's exhaustion, Chiang, aided by funds and arms from the United States, continued to fight the Communists. Many of his soldiers deserted to the Communists. Peas- ants, disgusted by Nationalist'corr option, shifted their support. Un- like Chiding's undisciplined forces, the Communist army did not loot, kill, or rape. Mao's eight rules of conduct were: 1) speak politely, 2) pay fairly for what you buy,3) return everything you borrow, 4) pay for anything you damage, 5) clo not hit or swear at people, 6) do not damage crops, 7) do not take liberties with woen, 8) do not ill- treat captives. Chiang, with suppory waning, fled to Taiwan. On October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of. China.' 4443 tvIdoiq mg that people, not material things, ar e decisive, Mao politicized China's peasantry. At the village level. "enemies" were named, tried, and punished by the villagers them- seives (one to three million were executed; many more landlords. usur('rs, busiriessmen were "re-educated" and redeemed): )easants helped redistribute land; campaigns against corruption, waste, bUreaucracy, dishonesty. and vermin were conducted.. Intellectuals:Needingintellet maksupport, Mao said no FebrUary, 1957. "Let it hundred (lowers bloom, let a hundred sch ols of thought 'contend." The resulting flood of criticism frightened he Party. Intellectual recalcitrants were executed; others were sent to work on farms. Great Leap fortvord: By mass regiMentation from 1958-60. Mao forced the pace of modernization. Factory arid commune quotas were set ever higher; lackyard blast furnaces sprang up; people were marched to .work and housed and fed communally. Peasants resisted the breakup of family life. The Great Leap failed, but Mao industrialized" many peasants and whipped. a nation into self- reliance. : Cultural Revolution 1966-69: Mao disliked the Party leaders' evident drift from communism toward private gain and comfort. To offset USSR-like "revisionism:' (imitating capitalism by producing consumer goods to buy off dis(:ontent), to reverse an emerging self- serving elite, to reinstate revolutionary zeal, Mao closed universities 'and riddle schools and sent 14 million rampaging Red Guard youths to harass leaders who were "taking the capitalist road." Flay- ing shocked leaders back to communism, the ilrITIV disbanded the faction-ridden Red Guards and sent 'the wildest youths to do farm work. Mao politicized a., new generation and made all agencies, including Schools, more dedicated to communism. Anti-Confucius Lin Pido Campaign After 1970: By discrediting Confucius's advocacy of traditional family loyalty, this caMpaign en- hanced the Mao-favored serve-the-people attitude.Moderate Lin Piao, once named Mao's successor, was called a traitor (he report- edly died in a 1971 pl,me crash escaping to the USSR), for allegedly plotting Mao's removal and for wanting techni.cal "expertness." His memory has been downgraded, along with Confuciuc's stress on harmony and primacy of the elite scholar, while doctrinal "redness" has been praised. Commbnes: Each of the ove'r 80,000 communes s'iells crops to the government at. a fixed price and makes almost everything for self- sufficiency. Commune families work common land (but each family also has its own private gardening plot and private apartment). The commune is administered by a revolut icinary committee of PartY. and 'army workers which does overall planning and manages schoolS, hospitals, and health centers. Ma Chin People's 'Communenear Shanghai in 1973 had an average annual income of $450per house- hold:or $84 per person. Pay. Made at the grassroots productionteam level, is based on points g.iver- for the kin,d anti amount of work_, for attitude toward labor, and for participation in exercises, communal concerns, and discussions of Mao's thoughts. After Mao: Mao Tse-tung. died .on September 9, 1976, eight months after Chou En-lai:S death. Moderate Flua Kuo-feng firstsuc- ceeded Chou as premier, dealt with dislocations fromsevere ,rugust earthquakes, then succeeded Mao-as Party chairMan on October12, after arresting some 40 top radicals-; including Mao's wife, Chiang Ching; tor .allegedly pianning a coup. Moderates; seeminglyin control, want education to produce technocrats in order to aidna- tional development. Radicals, still contending, want educationto produce revolutionary successors, that is, Communist enthusiaras.

School Summary School Policy: This, has zigzagged between emphasison intellectual content for rapid national development, favored by mbder- ates, and p(actical work-study, favored by Maoists (who prefer 'red--

. ness- over expertness). School. tarlder: The pre-1966 6- pattern has been reduCed to five-year elementary, two-year junior middle, and two-year senior Middle school for o,es 7 to.16. There is nO compulsory education,but the five-yean elc:nentary school is universal.. Fortypercent .of the middle .sch,el group attend Middle schools. The'aim of these schools is ! tr,rfactory and farm workers, not to prepare stu- aunts for Link er entrance. Prescho, '.t.H series for ages 6 months to 3 years and kindergartens for ,r_es 4 to 7 years are available in communes, housing units, and factories. They provide physical and healthcare, toys, food, bed rest. Children learn Mimbers, drawing, andcorrect social attitudes. They sing songs and recite Mao sayings. Thereare small

4 6'45 fees for day care (fre, !or poor families). Trained teachers earn dr average of $20 per m Elementary: -Fhe usual subjectsal' taught from the Marxian class struggle viewpoint. Some timelis spent in factory-like conditions making tacks, chess sets, water pumps, etc. Junior middle schools offer general education .and senior Middle schools offer advanced, specialized. courses. EleMentary and secondary schools emphasize pr.oblem-solving techniques that serve.t he people: for. (,xample. On tiny plots of land, city middle school students grow herbs for inedicine, mushrooms for food. Pniveoity: Most schoul graduates enter lifelOng farry work. Uni- versity entrance is based op middle school plus two to three years' work and recommendations of working peers: preference is given red activists with worker/peasant/soldier parent9. Enrollments have been cut in half since the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69..Most courses have been shortened. Course planning is done jointly by students and professors. Exdrns are often open book o.r problem solving. AVerage monthly salaries: profe9sor, $100-$150; lecturer, $75: assktant lecturer, $35: graduate assistant, $23 to $28. All teachers do some productive Idber.

Mao Talks About E::.ucation Study, kt 'ork. Re. t9): In anCie- -Imes the youth China .who studied Hoder ,.tqe neither reyolOtionary th!, ay nor(took partti Iglay little ft.u,unonary theory is far -du anOhere dre rIU ,dI( '11M4', ilproduction inovements in the

! ,ols ast regions o .1r Country. Itis onh, in Yenan and in th- anti-Japanese base are,, ,.hind the enemy lines that the young people are fundam(ntally Overloaded Cuff/cult/it, 11917): In the educational system Of China, required courses are as thick as the hairs on a cow Spec u- lating on the intentions 01 the educators,,One is led to wonder whether they did not design such an unwieldly curriculum in order to exhaust the students', to tratIple On their bodies,-and ruin their . lives ITOW stupid! 1,1./0i-rounded .Socialist Education (1957): Oor educationarpolky must enable eN)eryone:who receives education to devekw morally, jintellectually; and physically and bei well-educated worrr with socialist cohsciousness.

46 4 7 it( ational Reform (1937): Radically reform the existing educational policy and system. . . .,Newspapers, books, and magazines, films, plays, literature, and art should all serve national defense. Instructions to the 'People's. Liberation Army (1949): Protect all public and private schools, hospitals, cultural and educational institutions, athletic fields, and other public welfare establishments. It is to he hoped that all personnel in these institutions will remain at their posts; the People's Liberation Army will- protect them from molestation. ' Redness 'and Expertness (1969): The--r6lationship between redness and expertness, between politics and work, stands for the unity of tWo opposites. It is certainly necessary to,criticize and repudiate the tendency to ignore politics. It is necessary to oppose the arm- chair politician on.the one hand and the prarlicalist who has gone astray on the other. Correct Ide.., (1937Where do correct .ideas come fro Do the\ drop from Crskies No. Are they innate in the mind? No. hey con-from social prace and from it alone; they come from Mree kinds of social practif the struggle for production, the class struggle, and.scientific expe- nent. It is man.'s social being that d-termines his thinking. Once thorrect ideas cliiiracteristic of, the aiYanced class are grasped by t masses, these ideas turn into a trr deral force which changes so ty and changes the world. No Learning Without Labor (1--- 15):,It takes a total of 16, 17,Or 20 -ars 7,?'r one to reach the univers iv from primary school; and in this p-rioi: one never has a chance to aaok at the five kinds of cereals, to ;.- how the workers do their .-.ork, how peasants till their fields, and how traders do business. Inhe meantime, one's health is also ruined. Such an educational system is harmful indeed. On Revolutionizing Educatior. (1968): We must still run physics and engineering colleges, but the period of schooling ought to be shortened, the education lcurriculum revolutionized, proletarian politics' put in command, and the way of training personnel from the

ranks of the workers .. . adopted. Students must be selected ,from workers and peasants with pratical experience, and after their study at school for several years they should return to practical production. Practical KnOwledge (1942): LOok atcertain students, those ,brought up in schools that are completely cut off from the practical

4 47 'activities of society. lVhat about them? A person goes from a primary . school of this kind all theway through to a university of the same kind, graduates, and is reckoned tei havea stock of learninc. But all he has is book learning; he Ilasnot taken part in any pra(-;ical activities or applied what he has learnedto any held of life. Can such ,1 person be regarded as a completely developed intellectual?Hardly-. so, in my opinion. inecause his knowledge is still incomplete. Let iltePenp!e :=orn St hoofs (1943): ,Vemust take the primary St hi.nbk andRI: II Lit!irlV on the local r- .isses to run by themselves; the government will th. give material assistance and will offer guidance irymattors ofp.icy. .Tho Arrny Is a. Sr horn: .1949): Our field-armies of 2,100,000 are equiYalent to several tho..;-,anduniversities and secondary schools. We have to rely. chieflyon the army to supply our working cadres. Educatirm (195-): We must strengthenour ideological and political work. Both stt,dents andintellectuals should study hard. But in additibn to the sttac;', of their specializedsubjects, they.musf make progress both ideoht;ically and politically,which means they should study Marxism, curont events;-andpolitical problems. Not ho have a correct political-pc:nt ofview is like having no soul. Overlearning and Res ,ionism (1964): Marxist booksshould he studied, but we also mustrot read too many of them.... Shouldone read too many of them,or- would-proceed to.the negative side and become ,1 bookworm ora revisionist. Examinations as Surprise Attacks .(1964): Examinationsar preserjt are like kidding enemies, r.ot people. Theyare surprise attacks, full of catch questirms. Theyar- nothing hut a method-of testing official' stereotyped writing. I disapprove of theM andadvocate wholesale transformation. Check List for 1-iachers (1929):1) Resort to the method ot en- lightenment (abolish inculcations): 2) proceed fromthe short-range to the long-range; '3) proceed from't he superficialto -the -deep;-4)- speak in popularfanguage.; 5) be explicit;.6) make what you say inter- estin44 id speech with gesticulation;8) review con,cepts taught last time..;---9),, itilize an outline;..10) utilizediscussion groups. t ypf Intellectuals (1939): Intellectuals oftentend tin he, subjective'and individualistic, impractical in theirthinking. resolnre in or lion 1 they has e thrown themsekes heart ano oul into rnass r,..Aolutionary struggreS,-or malup their minds tb serve

48 L 4 9 theinterests-of t masses ann A.,«Onc one with them.... g allol themwill renia revolutionaries to th- end. Some will dri out of the revolutioris rank at critical immients and :A.A onu while a few ruts oven become enemies of the re%.ution. Ie intellectuals can overcome their shortcomings only in rnass strugliosover a long period. Dealing wilt. Intellectuals (1948): Our Party ,nould, therefore, adopt a careful attitude idwards students, 'teachers, professor's, scientific workers,..at workers, and ordinary intellectuals. We should uniteWith t hern;educate't hem, and give them posts according to the merits of each case, and only a tiny number of die-hard counter: revolutionaries among them will have to be appropriately dealt with through the massline. Young .Revolutionarie!, (1969): New China must care for her youth and show concern for the gr'owt h.of. t he younger generation.

. . The young .worker and peasant, the educated youth. and the young people in the armed forces are heroic and onergetit and well disciplined. Withouithem the cause of revolution and construction canraot be successful. Learn from the Masses (1964): Strength comes from the masses. . After becoming a teacher, One must leai-n from the masses in' .order to understand how one stands in one's own studies. City Youth .to the Countryside (1968): It .is absolutely necessary for edueated young people.tii go to the countryside to be reedu- cated by the people. . . Cadres and other city people should be ,persuaded to send their sons and daughters who have finished junior or senior Middle school, co1lege, or university to t,he countryside.... .Comrade throughout the countryside ,should welcome- them; COntinuing Ethication (1944): In our education we must have not only regular primary and secondary schools bill also ,( orteed regular village schools. nes piper -icadinc 41-oups. Ps.! classes. Not only must wr I7,R, O.,- nodern kat,: v, :rust also utilize and transfor in the old skie village schools. I earning ,ma Revolution (1958): i3enjarnin Franklir discovered electricity, though he began as a ney.',paper boy. What learning did Jesus have? . Itis always those i le!,s learning who overthrow those with more learning. Learning to Swim (c. 1959): If yw aro 11'solved to do it, you can.

.certainly learn, whether you are young or old. I will give, vou an

49 5 0 example.r(.;ally learned to swirn well only in 1954; previouslyI had riot mastered it. In 1954, there" was anindoor pool at Tsinghua Uni- versity (in Pekingj. I went there every day with mybag, (-hanged my clot hesind for three months without interruptionI studied the nature of water. Water doesn't drownpeople. Water is afraid of people. Last Poem (to Chou En-lai, 1975): Now that our country has become red, Who will he its guardian? Our mission, unfinished, may take a thousand years. Thestruggle tires us, and our hair is gray. You and I, old friends, can we just watch ourefforts be washed

away? . -China Has tood 1.1p (1949): Our nation will never againbe an insuheil nation. e .have stood up.

50 This book and others in the series are made available at low cost through the contributions of the Phi Delta Kappa Educa- tional Foundation, established in 1966 with a bequest by George H. Reavis. The foundation exists to promote a better understand- ing of the nature of the educative process and the'relation of education to human welfare. It operates by subsidizing authors to write booklets and monographs in nontechnical language so that beginning teachers and the public generally may gain a better un- derstanding of educational problems. The foundation exists through the generosity .of George Reavis and others .who have contributed. To accomphcL the goals envisaged by the founder, the foundation needs to e.,..icirge its endowment by several million dollars.,Contributions to the endowment should be addressed to the Educational Foundation, Phi Delta Kappa, Eighth and Union, Box; 789, Bloomington, Indiana 47401. The Ohio State University serves as trustee for the Educational Foundation. You, the reader, can help us improve the PDK foundation publications program. We invite you to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of this fastback. Let us .know what topics you would like us to deal with in future fastbacks. Address Director of Publications, Phi Delta Kappa, Eighth and Union, Box 789, I3loomington, Indiana 47401.

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I. Schools Without Property TaSes: Hope 50. Three Views of Competency-Based Teacher or Illusion? Education: III.University of Nebraska 2. The Best Kept Secret of the Past MOO Years: 51. A University for the World: The United Women Are Ready for Leadership In Education Nations Plan 3. Open Education: Promise and Problems 52. Oikos. the Environment and Education 4. Performance Contracting: Who Profits Most? 53. Transpersonal Psycholou in Education 5. Too Many Teachers: Fact or Fiction? 54. Simulation Games for the Classroom 6. How Schools Can Apply Systems Analysis 55. School Volunteers: Who Needs Them? - 7. Busing: A Moral Issue 56. Equity in School Financing: Full St&junding 8. Discipline or Disaster? 57. Equity in School Financing: DisctPeer 9. Learning Systems for the Future Equalizing 58. The Computer in the Scnool 10: Who Should Go to College? ) 11. Alternative Schools in Action 59. The Legal Rights of Students 12. Whit Do Students Really Want? 60. The Word Game: Improving Communications 13. What Should the Schools Teach? 61. Planning the Rest of Your Life 's 14. How to Achieve Accoubtability in the Public 62. The People and Their Schools: Community Schools,: Participation 15. Needed. A New Kind of Teacher 63. The Battle of the Books: Kanawha County 16. 'Information Sources and Services in Education 64. The Community as Textbook 17. Systematic Thinking About Education. 65. Students Teach Students 18. Selecting Children's Reading 66. The Pros and Cons cif Ability Grouping 19. Sex Differences in Learning to Read . 67. A Corrservative Alternative School: The . . 20. Is Creativity Teachable? A+ School in Cupertino 21. Teachers and Politics, 68. How Much Are Our Young People Cearning? The 22. The Middle School: Whence? What? Whither? Story of theflational Assessment 23. Publish: Don't Perish 9. Diversity in Higher Education: Reform in the College 24. Education for a New Society 70. Dramatics in the Classroom: Making Lessons 25. The Crisis in Education is Outside the Classro m Come Alive 26. The Teacher and the Deug Scene 71. Teacher Centers and Inservice Education 27. The Liveliest Seminar in Town 72. Alternatives to Growth: Education for a 28. Education for a Global Society Stable Society 29. Can Intelligence Be Taught? 73. Thomas Jefferson and the Education of a 30. How to Recognize a Good School New Nation 31. In Between: The Adolescent's Struggle for 74. Three Early Champions ofECation:Benjamin Independence kranklin. Benjamin Rush. and Noah Webster. .32. Effective Teaching in the Desegregated School 75. A History of, Compulsory Education Laws 33. The Art of Followership (What Happened Hi 76. The American Teacher: 1776:1976 the Indians?) 77. The Urban School Superintendency: A Centuryt 34. Leaders Live With Crises and a Half of Change 35. klarsh:dling Community Leadership to Support 78. Private Schools: From the Puritans to the Present the Public Schools 79. The People and Their Schools 36. Preparing Educational Leaders: New Challenges 80. Schools of the Past: A Treasury of Photographs and New Perspectives 81. Sexism: New Issue in American Education 37. General Eduiation: The Search kir a Rationale 82. Computers in the Curriculum 38, The Humane Leader 83. The legal Rights of Teachers 39. Parliamentary Procedure: Tool of Leadership 84. Learning in Two Languages 40. Aphorisms on Education MS. Learning in Two Languages (Spanish edition) 41. Metrication. American Style 85. Getting It All Together: Confluent Education 42. Optional Alternative Public Schools 86. Silent Language in the Classroom 43. Motivation and Learning in School 87. Multiethnic Education: Practices and Promises 44. Informal Learning 88. How a School Board Operates . 45. Learning Without a Teacher 89. What Can We learn from the Schools of China? 46. Violence in the Schools: Ctuses and Remedies 90. Educetion in South Africa 47. The School's Responsibility for Sex Education 91. What I've Learned About Values Education 48. Three Views of Competency-Based Teacher 92. The Abuses.of Standardized Testing Education: I Theory 93. The Uses of Standardized Testing 49. Three Views of Competency-Based Teacher - 94. What the People Think About Their Schools: Education: II University of Houston Gallup's Findings See inside back cover for prices. 5 3 A>